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Seattle Seahawks
Posted: Sun April 19, 1998 at 9:51 p.m.
* compensatory pick
QB - Despite age, Warren Moon continues to play at a high level. An ineffective run game forced him to the air a lot last season, and his body took a lot of punishment. The addition of RB Ricky Watters may drop his numbers some, but overall, he should become more efficient. Moon will likely be backed up by John Kitna... he has passed John Friesz on the depth chart, and Friesz may be a June 1st casualty. If Friesz is not in their plans, they will look for a QB late in the draft, or a rookie FA that goes undrafted.
RB - Ever since the demise of RB Chris Warren, they have been looking for a go-to RB... the past 2 seasons, they have platooned Warren, Lamar Smith, and Steve Broussard. They are now headed in the right direction with FA acq. Ricky Watters... he gives them a home run threat, and a guy who can put the game away when they are in the lead late. He's going to have to get 20+ carries to stay happy though, which will mean a lot less pass att's from Moon. They don't have a backup right now, as Warren has been released, Smith was signed as a UFA by the Saints, and Broussard is a UFA that hasn't been signed by anyone. Look for Broussard to re-sign, and then to grab an RB in the middle rds. of the draft.
WR - Joey Galloway is one of the best up and coming young WR's in the game... he has exc. speed, and is a home run threat every time he lines up. People have questioned his work ethic, and he could develop better practice habits, which he did late in the season. The missing link is a go-to guy opposite of Galloway... they re-signed James McKnight who was big play threat for them last season, but he is better suited as a #3. May look to add another WR in the draft. Mike Pritchard and Brian Blades are no longer the answers opposite of Galloway.
TE - The Christian Fauria project may be over soon if he doesn't get himself healthy. He has spent time in each of his 3 NFL seasons out with minor or major injuries. Carlester Crumpler is a solid backup type, but hasn't really distinguished himself as a receiver or blocker... he does both jobs adequately. The wild card is Itula Mili... He had a bright future before injuring his knee in the Wac Championship game before the 1997 draft... if his knee fully recovers, he can be the pass catching TE this team has dreamed of. Before the injury, he had dec. speed, and exc. agility. If Mili isn't ready, they need to find an athletic TE type in the draft.
OL - An already solid unit got better with the addition of FA OG Brian Habib... Habib will likely start at RG, with Derrick Graham getting a shot a RT. The only weak link on this OL is RT. Graham may or may not be the answer, so look for them to grab an OT in the early to mid rds. of the upcoming draft. The only other major change was at OC, where Kevin Mawae was signed as a UFA by the New York Jets. They quickly filled the void by signing UFA Kevin Glover away from the Lions. They have some depth inside too. This will be a strong unit if they can find their RT.
DL - Pretty solid unit, but they will underachieve at times. The inside dou of DT's Sam Adams and Cortez Kennedy can dominate when they come to play. Kennedy missed the 2nd half of the season with a leg injury, and the light finally went on with Adams.. with a healthy Kennedy back, this looks like a dominating duo. The biggest ? is at RDE, where they haven't found anyone to replace Michael McCrary... they tried a lot of different guys last season, and Phillip Daniels was probably the best. Need to add another rush DE to team with Michael Sinclair who is solid at LDE.
LB - Filled the void of retired LB Winston Moss by signing UFA OLB Darrin Smith of the Eagles. Smith has been a disappointment since leaving Dallas, and spent most of last season on the sideline with an ankle injury. Other OLB Chad Brown was a force the 2nd half of the season, but is too 1 dimensional... he is a better pass rusher than anything else, and isn't real fluid in coverage. MLB Dean Wells is an overachiever type who can make plays in a limited area. The starters are pretty avg., and the backups are a big ?... need to upgrade this unit in the draft.
DB - They are getting better, and showed a lot of improvement late in the season. Rookie DC Shawn Springs got off to a slow start, but improved his technique as the season wore on... Springs learned that it's tough to get by at the NFL level on AA alone. The biggest ? is at SS, where Bennie Blades can no longer run and missed the 2nd half of the season with injuries. Jay Bellamy filled his spot last season, but is much more suited to be a role player... they need a frontline starter at SS, and may look for him in the draft.
ST - PT Rick Tuten was injured most of last season, and they did not re-sign him this offseason. They got a major upgrade when they signed FA PT Jeff Feagles away from the Cardinals... Feagles is one of the more consistent veteran PT's in the NFL. PK Todd Peterson is coming off a shaky season, and they need someone to push him in training camp. Steve Broussard is a solid KOR man, but the PR unit has suffered since they took Joey Galloway off. The cover units were one of the worst in the NFL last season, and they need to add some quality depth before the season starts.
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